Two British men arrested in Afghanistan with 30 AK-47 assault rifles have been released and cleared after a January arrest for weapons smuggling, their Canadian employer said Tuesday. Julian Steele and James Davis were detained while driving through Kabul with the rifles, whose serial numbers had been erased.
The Afghan government said the men did not have proper documentation for carrying weapons and were charged with illegal weapons smuggling. "I can confirm that were freed and declared innocent," GardaWorld security firm spokeswoman Nathalie de Champlain told AFP in Montreal, without providing further details.
The firm, which provides global risk consulting and security services, has long denied the allegations, saying the weapons were "properly licensed" and were being taken to be tested at a shooting range for future purchase by GardaWorld.